Living too far from childcare centers is making it harder for parents to work.
And that’s costing the state nearly $3 billion every year, according to new research from Michigan State University.
Employer losses add up to $2.3 billion and state tax revenue losses are an estimated $567 million.
An estimated 44% of Michigan residents live in a “childcare desert” -- an area with at least 30 kids under 5-years-old without a childcare provider, according to the Center for American Progress.
That lacking access to licensed daycares negatively affects parents’ employment, especially for mothers in rural communities.
“It's difficult to go to work if you have a young child at home and either somebody has to stay home or you have to pay for or arrange childcare, which is quite expensive in this country,” John Reaves said.
Reaves is a doctorate student studying economics and one of the researchers in the study published in the journal Social Sciences.
He said because childcare disproportionately falls on women, mothers are more affected by access to childcare. It has a larger impact on whether they can work or not.
The study estimates more than 5,500 women would join the state workforce if childcare were within 5 miles of where they lived.
Although childcare access is an issue everywhere, it’s more prominent in rural communities, Reaves said.
“There's a lot of areas in Michigan, especially in UP and the northern part of the lower peninsula, where people can be quite far from childcare centers,” Reaves said.
One solution is to invest in childcare infrastructure in rural areas.
“These are areas that are more sparsely populated and maybe a little bit less economically advantaged,” Reaves said. “Trying to get more people to work or participate in the labor force could have some positive economic effects for these communities.”
Other solutions outlined by the study include adding childcare into local economic development strategies and promoting employer-based solutions like tax incentives.
Reaves said expanded childcare access gives families more choices.
“We don't live in isolation,” he said. “If it's not us that are directly affected, it's going to be our coworkers. It's going to be people we went to school with. It's going to be our neighbors down the street. I think childcare availability is a sign of a healthy society.”
